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A Moment of Crisis A river ends with its union and transformation into a lake, sea or ocean, a multifaceted symbol for the people and the city. In this respect, the Don is not an anomaly: river mythology has a rich past. The circulation of rivers was once seen to parallel the body’s bloodstream, my- thologising rivers such as the Nile, Tigris and Euphrates as sacred symbols of fertility and providence that gave rise to the great civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia. Both ancient and modern cities are built along watercourses and their mouths. Rivers frequently appear as literary devices, and their unremitting flow is a commonly used metaphor for the irreversible passage of time. Through- out Toronto’s history, the Don River has remained physi- cally and symbolically important. Its physical transfor- mations have directly reflected various civic perceptions as the city evolved. With the decline of industrial activity in the 1990s, the Don’s increasingly vacant landscape, as well as the neglected port lands, suggests little of its once iconographic significance.
At the same time as the Don’s iconographic demise, our urban spaces which supposedly reflect who we are, can increasingly be found to be wanting when they try to accommodate such poignant moments as weddings and funerals. At this critical juncture, the parallel narratives of the city and the people can converge. If the river is indeed a lifeline, then the mouth of the Don ought to serve as a moment of release and rebirth.
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